Law / United States / 
Florida
Florida Security of Communications Act, Pen Register and Trap and Trace Device Prohibition
In force.
A device storage and tracking consent rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- Whoever you are, and not only if you are an investigative or law enforcement officer, do not install or use a pen register or a trap and trace device, a device that records the dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information of a wire or electronic communication without capturing its contents, without first obtaining a court order, unless the user of the service being monitored has consented, or the use is by the service provider itself for network operation or for protecting the provider or a user from fraudulent or unlawful use of the service.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
Whoever knowingly violates the general prohibition on installing or using a pen register or a trap and trace device without a court order is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Criminal prosecution by the State; chapter 934 provides no private civil action for a violation of Fla. Stat. § 934.31.
What this law does
Florida bars any person, not only an investigative or law enforcement officer, from installing or using a pen register or a trap and trace device, a device that records or decodes the dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information of a wire or electronic communication without capturing its contents, without first obtaining a court order.
The prohibition does not apply to a communications service provider's own network-operation, fraud-prevention, or abuse-prevention use, or to any use made with the consent of the service's user. Chapter 934 gives no civil cause of action for a violation of this section, so a person's only recourse against an unauthorized private user is criminal: a knowing violation is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app tracks devices.